Ecosystem services enhanced through soundscape management link people and wildlife

Burgeoning urbanization, development and human activities have led to reduced opportunities for nature experience in quiet acoustic environments. Increasing noise affects both humans and wildlife alike.

We experimentally altered human-caused sound levels in a paired study using informational signs that encouraged quiet behaviours in week-on, week-off blocks on the trail system of Muir Woods National Monument, California, USA to test if the soundscape influences both wildlife and human experiences.

Using continuous measurements from acoustic recording units (n = 13) spatially distributed within the park, we found signs significantly lowered sound levels by approximately 1.2 decibels (A-weighted), thereby increasing listening area by 24% and bird availability by approximately 5.8% for every 1 decibel decrease.

Visitor-intercept surveys (n = 537) revealed that our mitigation increased the number of birds perceived by visitors, rankings of soundscape pleasantness, and importantl...

快速扩张的城市化进程、开发活动与人类行为，导致人类在静谧声学环境中亲近自然的机会日益减少。日益严重的噪声污染正同时影响人类与野生生物的生存与体验。

本研究采用配对实验设计，在美国加利福尼亚州米尔伍德国家纪念地（Muir Woods National Monument）的步道系统中，设置以周为单位交替启用与停用的提示标识，通过人为调控人为声源强度，以验证声景是否会同时影响野生生物与人类的游览体验。

本研究借助部署于园区内的13台声学记录单元（acoustic recording units）开展连续监测，结果显示，提示标识可使声级显著降低约1.2分贝（A-weighted），由此使得可聆听区域扩大24%，且声级每降低1分贝，鸟类观测可及性提升约5.8%。

游客拦截式调研（visitor-intercept surveys，n = 537）结果显示，该降噪措施可提升游客感知到的鸟类数量、声景愉悦度评分，且重要的是……